Hadith al-Thaqalayn
Much hue and cry has been raised with regards to the famous hadith known as Hadith al Thaqalayn, with the Shia propagator often fervently claiming that it, 1) is Mutawatir (so authentically and abundantly narrated that it is impossible to deny), 2) establishes the Ahlul Bayt as the only source of shari’ah after the Qur’an (or rather equal to the Qur’an as a source of guidance), 3) and that the authority of the twelve (shia) Imams is proven from it. Closer inspection of the chains of narration, however, reveal matters to be quite the opposite; this hadith being neither Mutawatir, and neither establishing the authority of the Ahlul Bayt, making the claim in favour of the twelve Imams even more far-fetched. The author, Molana Muhammad Nafi’ has traced this narration in all references cited by the Shia, as well as those not cited by them, after which two versions of this hadith emerge: that which is authentic and proves the virtue of the entire Ahlul Bayt (not only twelve as is the dogmatic view of the Shia) and that which is weak and has been subjected to distortion by Shia narrators; and thereafter he goes on to prove the veracity of the Ahlus Sunnah’s view.